More good news...

Hayley heard today that she was accepted for a new job!

She applied for an apprenticeship as a Dental Technician and got the call this afternoon after interviewing last Friday. She had come out thinking she had done as well as she could and she was right! she had done well.

The position will start in the New Year and will involve fine work with moulds, dentures, mouth guards etc. She is very excited to have a direction and a career path.

Just about to head down to the show.

Good on you Hayley we are very proud of you!

Oliver! is on...

The time has finally come, the rehearsals are over, everybody is ready to go.

Oliver! has begun

We went to the first show today and sat in the front row and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing.
From our vantage point we could see the whole ensemble playing and that was really interesting to watch them playing away and following the animated conductor every minute.

The childrens chorus sang their hearts out and the young lead did a fabulous job as Oliver. Erin delivered her line nice and loud and I was very proud of her. She was very nervous and said afterwards that she saw us but was trying to ignore us. Three shows this weekend and 4 next, I can't wait till I see it again next Sunday.

My big day...

I've been planning this day for weeks and today it finally came together.

I ran a study day.

Doesn't sound like much but it involved multiple guest speakers, organising the venue, catering and presenting two of the sessions myself. The little details were beginng to bog me down but we got through and it seems to have been a resounding success.The food was plentiful and delicious (thanks to Jenny and her first foray into catering), the speakers were well received and the IT system did not play up once.
I'm glad it is over and I can stop rehearsing it over in my head and stop worrying about the number of cups, chairs and napkins. I did have a nervy moment at 9am when none of the guest speakers had turned up but luckily the first speaker arrived 5 minutes later and it all flowed from there.

Someone asked me if I was planning to do it again but thats like asking if you are going to have another baby when you have the newborn in your arms. I will have to relax and think it over...maybe next year

Op shopping...

Hayley and I went out to a local op shop for the first time today.

Ours is not a big town but we have 3 op shops. One of them is run by the Salvation Army and is very business-like, they charge a little more but do have a large range of goods. Last week I got Erin a pink handbag for $3. She had wanted one like that for a while...a true bargain.

Another of the op shops is run by the Hospital ladies auxillary for the benefit of thelocal  hospital. It is crammed with stock and every so often they have a 50c sale and you can pick up some astonishing bargains. Hayley is a regular at that establishment. You always see the ladies out the front sifting through donations and piffing rubbish into a giant skip, that breaks my heart that they have to do so much work because of thoughtless people. They do a great job supporting the hospital.

The third one is a 'St Vinnies' and is a small tin shed at the back of St Bernards church. It is only open 9-12 on Mon, Thurs, Fridays which is why we haven't been in before. We always forget to go down during their opening hours. But we remembered today and ventured in to a virtual Aladins cave.
It was packed full of treasures! And it was very neat with everything in its own particular place and it didn't smell either. Rows of categorised clothing, manchester, homewares, furnishings and toys greet you as you walk in. We fossicked around and admired the range and the way it was all laid out. I particularly liked that the lovely ladies there have 'featured' clothing or handbags that they think are extra special. And they have taped together crockery sets so they don't get split up. Winter coats were only $5 today and there were boxes of dolls, action men and barbies all neatly stacked just waiting to be played with. I could just imagine them leaping off the shelf after closing and getting into mischief just like in Toy Story!

I just wish I had taken my camera to capture the wonder of the glorious op shop. It seemed a bit more special than your average op shop...bountiful with opportunities.

Voting...

Still waiting for the result...

Still waiting for Callum to come home from the polling station...

The arguing continues on the TV coverage...seems close to some and a foregone conclusion to others.

Random ramblings...

Just some random ramblings from my week...

I am thinking...about the food, snacks and drinks all 3 of the children will need tomorrow as they spend the day away from home. Hayley and Erin will be at rehearsals 9-5 and Callum is working 730 - stumps at a local polling booth.

I am thankful...that Erin is improving and her cough is much less now. Time is a great healer, along with Ventolin!

I am wearing...my comfy trackies which are warm and easy to relax in at the end of a long day and a long week.

I am remembering...some last minute things I need to organise for next Fridays study day. I will be glad when it is done.

I am going...to watch Angels & Demons tonight on DVD. And I WILL remember to take back the DVD on time, seems I have paid too many late fines lately...very forgetful or busy or slack or distracted or something.

I am going...to bake tomorrow, my good intentions for today did not eventuate.

I am reading...just finished one book and wont start another til our holiday break. Looking forward to reading Jessica Watson's adventures on the high seas.

I am hoping...the election tomorrow ends up with a good leader elected...we will see.

On my mind...the family of a grade 3 girl from our school who passed away this week after battling leukaemia. And the family of our 90yo patient who also died. Sad losses for both in their own way.

Noticing...when you get your tax return it instantly disappears  New tyres, a trip to the dentist and some birthdays swallowed it up!

Pondering...whether the 'smart meter' that was installed this week will be better or not. I will have to do some reseach on that one.

From the kitchen...tried some Couscous and Cannelini bean burgers from the latest 'Delicious' magazine for dinner tonight. They weren't bad but need some tweeking with the flavours to spice them up a bit. The bean and potato patties I made from an (old) Womens Weekly booklet were much better and will get a second airing.

Around the house... there is washing hanging all over the place.

One of my favourite things...days off!

Still sick...

Erin improved for a few days, actually went to school but has now had a relapse and is coughing again to the point of vomiting. After a trip to our GP he commenced her on preventer and reliever puffers through the spacer. He did say the preventer medication would take some time to work and it did give her some relief but the sore throat and runny nose has flared up the cough again.

The wild cold rainy day we had today has not helped. It seems her airways are very sensitive to the cold air and it sets her off again. I raised the possibilty of whooping cough with the doctor and he feels it is unlikely. So her eyes are very red, the cough persistant and our patience wearing out.

We tucked up together and watched this movie. I know I know, I am a bit slow but I hadn't seen it and Erin had seen an interview with his actual daughter so she was quite interested as well.

We really enjoyed it and I would recommend anyone (there might be someone!) who hasn't seen it to have a look.









And I finished my book. Might save the next one (Jessica Watson's story) for our holiday.

Changes...

After reading Nicoles blog today I got to thinking about how different our 2 girls are in their fashion sense.

They are 9 years apart and what was in fashion for Hayley is now different for Erin, but its not just the fashion that changes, the girls have quite different styles.
I've kept all of Hayley's clothes unless they were really worn out and periodically I will go to the storage shed and pull things I know will fit Erin to show her. Invariably she will turn up her nose and shake her head. She just doesn't like them. I now wonder why I am keeping all of Hayley's clothes as hand me downs but I guess I am a slow learner or I just desperately want these clothes to go around again.

Hayley (14) - Grampians

I should have a clean out and just send those clothes to the Op shop now and give up the hope that they will be used again. I should take a critical look at other things I am hanging on to in case they might be useful again. A decluttering is good for us I think but the 'what ifs', the 'I might use that' and the 'I might need it' nagging thought in the back of the mind is powerful.

I bet we all are guilty of this eh?

Rain...

Winter has hit us hard over the last few days. Rain rain lots of rain, grey skies, windy stormy weather.

I'm not complaining about the amount of water that has been collected, but our overflowing tanks are flooding the garage even though Chris had done a great job with his plumbing skills, the 40 mls that has fallen is too much for his efforts.

I've said it before but I love this time of year. Frosty mornings and  stormy days mean I can wrap up in lovely scarves, warm coats and boots. The next season will be here soon, I saw the first of the fruit trees in blossom in the local orchards, and the boots will be packed away til next year.

House Rules...

A friend who knows I like Jodi Picoult books has lent me another to read...House Rules.

I've read several of her books and enjoyed all of them. After I finished Eat Pray Love I needed a book to sink my teeth into.

My Sister's Keeper was the first of hers I read and I was excited to see the movie and while I enjoyed it I loved the book more.

This one has got me in already and curled up listening to the rain while reading has been really nice.




What are you reading at the moment?

Happy Hayley's birthday...

I adjusted the posts a little because this shot of Hayley and Lucy is so perfect and just right for today.

Happy Birthday darling girl.
Hope you have everything your heart desires.
You are an amazing daughter, friend, sister, young woman.
Happy birthday to you...and many more.

Coughing...

While Erin coughed and coughed today I scrapped and finished off the cards sets I was working on

I had the idea of making up some blank card sets to give as thankyou gifts. I have been planning a study day at work and have 5 guest speakers coming to present. Usually you give a token to a guest speaker, a box of chocolates or something similar. I have a very small (non existant) budget to work with but wanted to give something with some thought behind it.

I made up these sets based on 3 sheets of patterned paper and 1 of the dark cardstock and added some embellishments. I put 1 of each of the 4 designs with envelopes in a cellophane wrap and am very happy with the end result.

I also finished off this layout from our latest picnic.

Hayley's birthday is tomorrow, I've wrapped the presents I just need to make one last card for her.